Nonpartisanship

We fact-check claims using the same standard for every claim. We do not concentrate our fact-checking on any side of our communal or any other division. We follow the same process for every fact-check and let the evidence dictate our conclusions. We do not advocate nor take policy positions on the issues that we fact-check.

Our fact-checked claim articles cover the political spectrum in Northern Ireland, and with claims by individual parties and their representatives both validated and rebuked; we publish the results of all claims that we research.

Everyone involved at FactCheckNI ‐‐ volunteers, interns, committee members, team managers and the board ‐‐ work under the fundamental principles of impartiality, transparency and accuracy; these are reflected in our organisation’s Code of Conduct.

Impartiality means that we cover claims across the political spectrum, without fear or favour. We check all sides, and provide the widest range of sources for a fact‐checked claim. Our final articles involve many participants in its creation, and thus we do not publish author by‐lines; you can review our personnel here.

We fact-check claims for accuracy; we do not question the motivation or intent of the person or organisation making the claim.

Lying means that someone purposely intended to mislead someone else. That’s a hard case to prove, and that’s not what we do.

Many of us are probably guilty of saying something inaccurate to another person or group, later relieved that it was likely forgotten. For politicians, in the media glaze and covering a wide range of topics, their mistakes are rapidly replayed across the airwaves and social media channels.

We believe that what is more important than catching a politician out is to present the additional perspectives and/or nuances of a claim. You can then decide how much a public representative is consistent with his or her facts.

Our desire is to promote a political debate that is rooted in numbers and facts, rather than stereotypes and prejudices.

FactCheckNI

FactCheckNI is an independent, non-profit Community Interest Company (CIC) registered in Northern Ireland (NI 660549).